In Elon Musk's world, everyone will one day soon have a personal robot – his, of course – to do the menial tasks and free humanity to live lives of creative leisure. According to Roya News, he says that robots will also be the surgeons of the future, and the worst Optimus (Tesla’s humanoid robot) surgeon will be better than the best human doctor.
“There will probably be more Optimus robots that are great surgeons than there are all surgeons on earth,” stated Musk.
In keeping with his optimistic, Star Trek version of the future of artificial intelligence, humans will have outgrown insurance companies and copays and medical costs altogether.
“Medicine is going to be effectively free. The best medicine in the world is effectively for everybody. Everyone will have access to medical care that is better than what the president receives right now,” said Musk.
He predicts that, within three years, Tesla robots will perform surgeries better than any human. Furthermore, he claims that medical knowledge is expanding faster than humans can keep up and points out that it takes a human years to become a doctor.
“So don't go to medical school,” said Musk. “Yes, pointless.”
In contrast, Bob Maginnis, author of AI for Mankind's Future, says that Musk is being a bit too optimistic.
“On an operating table, it would seem to me that, if you haven't thought through all the possibilities then you come across something that has not been seen before, the machine will basically stop,” states Maginnis.
He says that the robot surgeon will have to rely on an old-fashioned, human doctor to prompt its next moves. Also, he asks, who is going to choose to let a humanoid robot do his open-heart surgery?
“When we're talking about life and death surgery, I think that there will be a great deal of hesitancy,” says Maginnis.
